Nearly half of the 78 dead in the horrific fire that ravaged a popular ski resort hotel in Turkey’s northwestern province of Bolu three days ago were children enjoying their two-week winter school break holiday, while the investigation continues into the hotel’s serious fire safety shortcomings that contributed significantly to the tragedy.
Turkish media confirmed that, following the identification of the victims of the tragedy, it has been determined that 36 of the 78 dead were under the age of 18, most of them primary or secondary school students. This was due to the fact that the hotel was almost fully booked because it was the middle of the ski season and because the winter school holidays had started only a few days before. The Turkish press stresses that almost every one of the thirty or so families staying at the hotel lost at least one child.
Meanwhile, many questions remain unanswered as to why a hotel with such serious security shortcomings was still open and operating normally. The hotel’s fire alarms and smoke detectors were not working, and the hotel did not have the legally required fire extinguishing system in place, nor did it have a fire escape outside the building, as required by regulations.
It has also been revealed that only 19 days before the disaster, the fire service of Bolu municipality issued a report identifying severe deficiencies after an inspection of the hotel, but no action was taken; on the contrary, the department issued a ‘fire safety compliance certificate’ for the restaurant… Precisely the place where the deadly fire started on 21 January.
Serious safety deficiencies overlooked
Serious deficiencies identified in that inspection included the absence of proper emergency exits, illuminated signs indicating evacuation exits, emergency lighting, instructions on fire extinguishing equipment, smoke detection systems or fire alarms; deficiencies in the electrical installation, or areas near the pool, spa and restaurant with inadequate emergency exits that do not comply with safety regulations.
Another point of attention of the media and experts in recent days is the absence of a dedicated fire brigade in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, where the hotel was located, which is an hour’s drive from the city of Bolu, where the nearest fire station is located.
An official report confirmed that it took firefighters 56 minutes to reach the winter resort – which hosts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year – and by then, flames were engulfing the roof and surrounding the upper floors, where several guests desperately opted to jump out of windows to avoid being burned to death, dying in the fall.
Upon arrival, rescue teams were able to evacuate more than 50 people trapped in their rooms on the 7-storey high front façade through the windows via the fire engine ladder; but the 12-storey high rear façade, built on a steep slope, burned without intervention because it was impossible to access it.
Turkey’s Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has announced that the number of people arrested over the Bolu hotel fire has now risen to 12, including the hotel owner, several employees and a now retired architect. But attention is now turning to safety at the country’s 16 ski resorts: of all these, only three – Erciyes (Kayseri), Uludağ (Bursa) and Yedikuyular (Kahramanmaraş) – have their own fire-fighting brigade.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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